Beyoncé Vs. Jay-Z, Billie Eilish Vs. Bono, Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande Highlight A-List Oscar Song Shortlist

Patrick Hipes
·2 min read
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The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has whittled its Original Song Oscar category to 15 songs that made the shortlist Tuesday, with a Grammy-loaded roster of talent bolstering the field.

Among the notable performers on the 15-song shortlist are music power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the former with “Be Alive” from Warner Bros’ King Richard and the latter with with “Guns Go Bang” from Netflix’s Western The Harder They Fall. The pair have 51 Grammys between them and would be the rare husband-wife competition if both made the final nominations list when they come out in February.

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Also in the mix is U2, which is vying for a third Oscar nomination with “Your Song Saved My Life” from Illumination’s Sing 2 (the Bono-fronted band was nommed in 2003 for Gangs of New York and again in 2014 for Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Billie Eilish also made the cut with “No Time to Die,” the title song from the 25th James Bond film from MGM. The song was released back in 2020 before the film went through a spate of release-date changes brought on by the pandemic, finally hitting screens in this October.

Additional shortlisters include songs featuring Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson (from Respect), Ariana Grande & Kid Cudi (from Don’t Look Up), Brian Wilson from the documentary Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road, Idina Menzel from Cinderella, SZA’s version of “The Anonymous Ones” from Dear Evan Hanson, and H.E.R. and Halle Berry’s “Automatic Woman” from Bruised. And of course Diane Warren, who is vying for her 13th Oscar nomination, is on the shortlist with “Somehow You Do,” sung by Reba McEntire for the indie Four Good Days.

A total of 84 songs were eligible in the category this year.

Below is the full shortlist, with final nominations will be announced February 8 ahead of the ceremony March 27 at the Dolby Theatre.

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

“So May We Start?” from Annette
“Down To Joy” from Belfast
“Right Where I Belong” from Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road
“Automatic Woman” from Bruised
“Dream Girl” from Cinderella
“Beyond The Shore” from CODA
“The Anonymous Ones” from Dear Evan Hansen
“Just Look Up” from Don’t Look Up
“Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto
“Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days
“Guns Go Bang” from The Harder They Fall
“Be Alive” from King Richard
“No Time To Die” from No Time to Die
“Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from Respect
“Your Song Saved My Life” from Sing 2

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